Training of Trainers – GBV

INTRODUCERE

Sex og Politikk is a non-profit and non-partisan membership organization that works to strengthen and inform about sexual and reproductive health and rights, both in Norway and internationally.

Sex og Politikk is the Norwegian member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), which is the largest organization for SRHR internationally, with national organizations in more than 120 countries in addition to Norway.

MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING:

The main goal of the Gender Based Violence-training-sessions is to provide a network of SECS-related trainers with some level of:

  • knowledge
  • tools and practice
  • confidence
  • sense of commitment

This to enable you to conduct training sessions on the topic of Gender Based Violence to teachers, health professionals, volunteers and others who benefit from a wider perspective on GBV in their contact with young people in particular.

TOPICS TO BE COVERED

DAY 1: GET TO GRIPS WITH GENDER BASED VIOLENCE (GBV)

Gender-based violence (GBV) covers any type of discrimination against a person based on their (biological or preserved) gender or sexual orientation.

GBV is a worldwide and ever-present phenomenon that touches all social classes, and cuts around boundaries of age, sexuality, race, educational background, or socio-economic status.

Socially constructed stereotypes, gender norms, values, and expectations towards females and males shape the different behaviour and roles directed towards the sexes.

In many societies, women are viewed as submissive to men, with a lower status, and of lesser authority.

It is however important to stress that GBV also affects men, but at a disproportionate level to women and girls given women’s subordinate status in society.

In most cases, the perpetrators of GBV are family or community members, or those acting on behalf of cultural, religious, or state institutions

Social and cultural norms discourage the reporting of GBV and offer implicit, or even explicit, social sanction of some forms of GBV.

Gender inequalities devalue and discriminate against women and girls and can shape a sense of entitlement among men and boys.

Capacity constraints in education systems, which are overwhelmed and overstretched in many countries already, affect work to prevent GBV in or outside of schools.

Weak coordination and monitoring mechanisms limit the multisectoral coordination and collaboration between ministries of education, police, health, social services, child protection, and other key sectors that are fundamental to preventing and responding to GBV.

Weak service support and referrals for victims limit access to quality services, including health, social services, and child protection.

Lack of governance and accountability mechanisms, with most countries not yet having legislation to protect children from violence in education settings.

The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (since 2011), also known as the Istanbul Convention, was a ground-breaking global imitative in the fights against GBV.

The Convention stands out as a prominent policy that is committed to ensure protection, prevention, prosecution, and monitoring on behalf of women who face violence and abuse.

It recognises that women and girls are exposed to a higher risk of gender-based violence than men – being that of serious concern such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, rape, forced marriage and genital mutilation.

It recognises the structural nature of violence against women as gender-based; that domestic violence affects women disproportionally; that men may be victims of domestic violence; and that children are victims of domestic violence, including as witness of violence in the family.

Anger is considered a secondary emotion because it is triggered by other types of emotions that not always is easy to detect.

Abuse and anger are often used in the same context given that one is derived by the other.

An abuser is often angry, whereas an angry person is not always abusive.

A power imbalance is not always considered abuse, but it is when the power imbalance reaches the level of exploitation you start looking at abuse.

ANGER

  • Anger is typically triggered by emotional hurt, and is experienced as an unpleasant feeling that occurs when we believe we have been injured, mistreated, opposed, or when we face various obstacles that keep us from attaining our goals
  • Anger can be expressed towards anything and anyone
  • Those who express anger are able to accept responsibility and consequences for their actions when confronted

ABUSE

  • Abuse is a behaviour that has developed over time and happens regularly, based on controlling and and manipulating behaviour. The victim faces threats, fear, unsafety, violence, active lies and isolation
  • Abuse often has a specific, calculated target
  • An abusive person has feelings of power and superiority projected on to their victims

It can be challenging to distinguish between these three concepts, and they are often used interchangeably.

  • Sexual harassment is when unwanted sexual attention is directed at someone, and the motive behind it is to be annoying, degrading, frightening, humiliating or hostile. This can include unwanted kissing, touching, flirting, or stalking.
  • Sexual harassment can be verbal (remarks about figure/looks, sexual jokes or advances); non-verbal (staring and whistling); or physical (unwanted physical touch, or rape/assault).
  • Rape is defined as a situation in which someone experiences unwanted penetration – either with fingers, objects, or a penis.
  • Abuse is somehow broader than rape and covers incidences that are considered less severe than rape – such as groping, spread of sexualised videos, and pictures of someone on social media or internet.
  • All countries in the world can report to some type of bullying in schools, and bullying is identified by young people as one of the biggest problems they face.
  • In most cases, bullying has a tremendous, sometimes long-term, impact on their educational attainment as well as their physical and emotional wellbeing.
  • The majority of the bullying that young people perpetrate are gender-based, including sexually harassing someone, humiliating, abusing, isolating, or spreading rumours about someone based on their gender, sexual-identity, or sexual orientation.
  • GBV-bullying in schools is also called School-Related-Gender-Based-Violence (SRGBV)

Gender norms and bulllying

Individuals who do not conform to the ideal norms associated with masculinity or femininity are often victims of maltreatment based on ignorance and bigotry of the perpetrator.

It may seem difficult to distinguish between bullying and inappropriate behaviour, and it is therefore important to identify the reactions that follows, especially by the person on the receiving end, and the frequency of the behaviour towards the other.

Examples of gender-based bullying could be

1) girls labelling a boy “gay” because he shows no interest in going out with them

2) calling a girl lesbian because of her short hair, or

3) labelling a boy “sissy” based on his interests that conventionally is not considered masculine, such as art

Domestic violence is behaviours that may result in physical, sexual, and emotional/ psychological attacks, as well as economic or financial coercion or abuse used by one intimate partner against another, parents against their children, or children and adolescents against their parents. The purpose of domestic violence is to establish and exert power and control over another.

Examples of types of violence that may take place in the home and family:

  • Physical violence – harsh treatment and punishment that is physical and humiliating
  • Emotional violence – Insults, name-calling, threats, isolation, rejection
  • Neglect – Deprivation of a safe and healthy upbringing and home environment
  • Sexual violence – Forced to have sex, harassed, or being touched by a family member
  • Early marriage – Marriage before the age of 18. Often you are forced to marry someone older
    • Harmful traditional customs
    • Female genital mutilation (cutting of female genital parts)
    • Scarring, burning, branding and other painful ways of decorating the body
    • Violent initiation rites
    • Honour killings 
  • Domestic violence – Witness domestic violence in own household.

Digital violence is a phenomenon where mobile and online technologies are used as tools to blackmail, control, coerce, harass, humiliate, objectify, or violate another person

Online gender-based violence can be identified as “revenge pornography”, “virtual rape”, “cyberstalking”, and “online gender-based hate speech”.

Research show that girls and women are the main target of online digital sexualised violence

Even though online technology is mostly used in positive ways, studies have also shown that problem behaviors have arisen.

Digital dating abuse and digital abuse in relationships is a common phenomenon, and is used to describe physical, sexual, or emotional violence between romantic partners through texting, social media, and related online. This abusive behaviour is considered a 21st century evolution of teen dating violence, which has been an issue of concern for decades.

Violence tends to be cyclical, and an individual who has been abused in the past is likely to experience abuse again

Self-defence are techniques and methods used to protect yourself in cases of danger and emergency; and can also be considered a tool to promote self-confidence.

Two main reasons are suggested as to why self-defence techniques are important:

1) The victims are aware of the risks of fighting, and

2) Their self-confidence appears to make them less attractive targets

  • The main purpose of self-defence education is to develop the learner’s knowledge, skills, strategies, and ability to successfully defend themselves against attackers in threatening situations.
  • Familiarise yourself with effective programs of self-defence within your community, school district, or law enforcement agency. Other means that provide necessary resources could be books, brochures, or visual modules online.

A good support network is always needed whenever you meet greater or lesser challenges in life. A good network is considered someone who:

  • Is present and shows support
  • Shows belief in the victim, and non-judgement
  • Provides practical help (help the victim to research and reach out to necessary resource centres)
  • Mobilises help from others, either professional or someone they trust
  • Always considers the victims needs
  • Tries to activate the victim in their everyday life.

OBS! It is important that the support network takes care of themselves as well in the process, so you can be a good support network long term. Therefore, it can always be a good idea to involve health professionals or other superiors.

DAY 2: TEACHING GBV

Expectations regarding GBV training course

  • Methods on how to deal with GBV (how to prevent and react).
  • Examples and practice
  • Explaining concepts

Why would you take part in a training course on GBV?

  • To learn how to make it interesting and raise awareness about it
  • Building skills on the topic
  • Knowing best practices from other countries
  • Preventing and dealing with risks

Given the sensitive nature of the topics covered in this manual, it is important for the respective leader to consider all possible ethical and safety risks that might occur during discussions, reflections, and delivery of this material. Particularly in cases of potential disclosures among those who either face domestic violence or violence in immediate circles. In Europe, it is estimated that one-fifth to one quarter of all women have experiences physical violence at least once during their adult lives, and more than one-tenth have suffered sexual violence. Therefore, anonymisation becomes an important mechanism when delivering this type of curriculum. By using fictional or other case study examples, the classroom creates a safe space for discussion and reflection, without creating pressure within the group. As a leader, it is important to ensure that all participates are seen, and that their feelings are considered. Some topics are less comfortable to discuss than others, so it is important to always inform the group about what is being covered during class. We thereby recommend that group leaders and pupils together create some guidelines and agreements on how to create a safe space

Safe and comprehensive education starts with a safe learning environment. A safe learning environment is an important prerequisite for pupils to trust one and other, ask questions, and reflect in fellowship.

The role of teachers is to ensure that teaching in the classroom is facilitated in a way that respects pupils’ views, whilst at the same time condemns statements that promote bullying and discrimination.

As a group leader it is important to speak in a non-judgemental and an inclusive way, so that each topic covered stands out as relevant for the whole group. Therefore, it would be necessary to consider a norm critical approach during teaching.

A norm critical approach implies that one is critical to conventional norms, gender roles, body image, sexuality, relationships, and family life.

When teaching a sensitive topic such as GBV, you need to ensure that the material is taught according to age and maturity.

  • The facilitator’s guide targets the age-group of 14 – 20 years, and it is natural to cover topics such as sexual harassment and bullying, domestic violence, digital violence, and dating violence. Such topics are necessary to cover, as people in this age-group are in the process of building own relationships and exploring their own sexuality.
  • For younger age-groups, one must be more cautious on how to approach GBV as topic. Instead of talking directly about violence and abuse, one should approach the topic by talking about feelings, emotions, and human dignity; and about hurting and upsetting others. For the material to be as effective as possible in a preventative manner, it is crucial for children and youth to receive necessary knowledge prior to situations in which the knowledge is meant to be utilised.
  • It is also important to consider the background of the group.

Gender-based violence is a topic that needs to be approached in a cautious and sensitive way, given the unknown nature in which the group might have dealt with the issue or not.

  • It is not always easy to identify when someone is a victim of violence or abuse, since gender-based violence covers more than just physical violence. However, signs such as withdrawal, anxious or depressed behaviour, or disruptive and troublesome behaviour is something to be aware of when approaching this topic.
  • It is always important to foster an environment that is non-judgmental and open for the recipient group to feel safe during group discussions. The group leader should ensure that they always establish and go through “ground rules” such as those previously mentioned.
  • Disclaimer: The relationship between the group leader (ex trainer) and the learner is not expected to be confidential. The group leader does not hold a title as a counsellor, and thus not responsible for providing counselling to the group. However, there should be a certain level of respect and professionalism between the two parties, and the group leader should always hold the role of a good listener and suggest appropriate and valid courses of action.

Training teachers/professionals

  • Main function is to provide teachers with targeted knowledge, tools and guidelines for how to teach GBV-related matter.
  • An expert on how to teach GBV in a responsible and confident manner.
  • Perceived as and expert on GBV-related matter.
  • Benefit from humble respect for the role of the teacher.
  • Can instigate/encourage the establishment of report mechanisms in schools etc.

Teaching students/young people

  • Main function is to create a safe space to teach selected and age-appropriate GBV-related topics.
  • Perceived as expert on GBV-related topics as a supplement to the teacher.
  • Perceived as someone to potentially disclose to as victim of GBV.
  • Perceived as someone who can instigate help or reporting mechanism.
  • Benefit from familiarising with policies of school and local agencies, as well as legal obligations to report to police or social services in serious cases.
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